Retail Briefs

Jo-Ann Recruits Fred Meyer Execs

National craft and fabric retailer Jo-Ann Stores named Darrell Webb chairman, president and ceo; and Travis Smith evp, merchandising and marketing. Webb was president of the Fred Meyer supercenter unit of Kroger since 2002; Smith was vp general merchandise there. Gregg Searle of Jo-Ann's board of directors thanked retiring president, ceo and chairman Alan Rosskamm: “Under his leadership, Jo-Ann grew to the No. 1 market share position in sewing…. We are very pleased he will remain a part of the company's future success through his continued service as a member of our board of directors.”

Fred Meyer Names Ellis President

Michael Ellis has been promoted to president of the Fred Meyer division of Kroger. Ellis, who started at Fred Meyer in 1975 as a parcel clerk, was most recently Kroger group vp for grocery, drug, general merchandise, pharmacy and advertising. Prior to that role, he was senior vp, food group for Fred Meyer, the 128-store supercenter division. “Mike built his career with Fred Meyer and we are excited to have him lead the division,” said Don McGeorge, president and coo of Kroger.

Vice Chairman Lacy Leaving Sears

Alan Lacy, vice chairman of Sears Holdings, will leave the company effective July 29, and will resign from the boards of directors of Sears Holdings and Sears Canada. Sears Holdings chairman Edward Lampert noted, “As vice chairman, he's been focused on the integration of Sears and Kmart as well as his responsibilities as the chairman of the board of Sears Canada, which has seen its stock price double since he was named to that post.” Lacy joined Sears in 1994 as senior vp, finance; he was named ceo in October 2000 and later chairman of the board.

Survey: Target Slipping on Domestics

Target shoppers rate home fashions as one of four categories that captures their greatest interest -- but the retailer's “share of preference” for soft home goods is beginning to wane, according to the “Bull's-eye on the Target Shopper” report from Retail Forward. That competitive challenge is heightened due to overall patterns: Target, the second-most-shopped retailer, has far fewer locations than Wal-Mart – 1,418 stores vs. 3,200 – and draws far less traffic. “Despite marketing efforts to promote Target also as a place to go for everyday household basics, just 8% of primary household shoppers make a weekly trip to Target vs. 32% for Wal-Mart,” said Retail Forward.

Federated Selling Landmark Filene's

Federated Department Stores will sell its Boston Filene's store to Vornado Realty Trust for about $100 million. Federated has now announced buyers for 57 of its 80 duplicate locations. Opened in 1890, the 656,000-square-foot store was recently granted landmark status by the Boston Landmarks Commission, in an effort supported by Vornado. The sale is expected to be finalized in the fourth quarter.